


Right Where You Belong

by greekowl87



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Episode: s08e16 Three Words, F/M, MSR, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 20:37:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21464194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greekowl87/pseuds/greekowl87
Summary: How did Scully tell Mulder the baby is his?
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79





	Right Where You Belong

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote a drabble for the @just-fic-already (over on Tumblr) missing scene workshop for where Scully tells Mulder the baby is his in season 8. I then try to do something more from it this morning. This is what was created. Dialogue from ‘Three Words’ isn’t mine. I got it from the transcript over at Inside the X so thank you to those lovely people running that website. I took it to try and rework this scene.

Ever since he woke up in the hospital from his abduction, Mulder stared at the world through a looking glass. He recognized people, places, things, but inevitably, it wasn’t the same thing that he had left months before. So Scully was patient. She visited him every day, brought him new clothes, sneaked in his favorite food so he didn’t have to eat the bland hospital food, and anything to get him to respond to her. Mulder would just smile politely, maybe glance briefly her pregnant abdomen and turn away before she could get a word in. 

Scully did not know what to do. The more she tried to reach out to him, the more he pulled away from her. She thought back to her own abduction and the months of nightmares that she had. One of the few things she found solace in was getting back to work and Mulder. She remembered how it was coming back to life when everyone thought she was dead. Except Mulder treated her no different. He was more tender and overprotective but he didn’t treat her any different. She thought she was doing the same but this time, there was something quite literally between them. The elephant in the room. Or the basketball under her sweater as Mulder called it.

Scully had hoped she could make him comfortable enough to bring up the literal thing between them but it never seemed like a good time. When the day came for him to be released, Mulder kept insisting that he could take a cab but out of the sheer will or the fact he was just tired of Scully, he relented to have her drive him home. If he could feel like he had a home. 

He continued his cold silence as Scully carried the small bag. They rode the elevator up and she fumbled with his key pushing the old oak door open. For a moment, he stood there in the doorway, unsure whether to run or to stay. And then he took his first step and then another. Scully released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. He circled the dining room and ventured into the living room. 

Scully stood still, unsure of what to do, she broke the silence. “Must feel good to be home.”

Half-hearted at best.

“Mmmm.” He hummed. He looked around with an untrained eye. Scully swallowed the knot in her throat and carried the bag into his bedroom. She felt like an intruder. She quickly escaped back out into the dining room. Mulder still inspected his old apartment. “Something looks different.”

She followed him into the living room and cleared her throat. “It’s clean.”

He chuckled mirthlessly. “Ah… that’s it.”

She played with her key ring nervously as he inspected the fish tank. “Missing a molly.”

“Yeah. She wasn’t as lucky as you.” She watched him sit at his desk and stare at the wall. Lost. She still could read him. “Mulder… I don’t know if you’ll ever understand what it was like. First learning of your abduction… and then searching for you and finding you dead. And now to have you back and, uh…”

Her voice broke at restraining her own sadness.

“Well, you act like you’re surprised,” he chuckled again. Scully didn’t return the smile. He coughed, straightened his face and looked away. “Well, I’m back now.”

She cleared her throat and stepped forward. “I prayed a lot. And my prayers have been answered.”

He looked at her again, meeting her watery eyes. His gaze was inquisitive than accusatory before he looked down and nodded towards her pregnancy. “In more ways than one.”

Growing self-conscious, she looked down as well. “Yeah.”

Sadness crept into his voice. “I’m happy for you. I think I know… how much that means to you.”

Her heart was breaking. She couldn’t breathe. It felt like the room was collapsing all around her. Not like this. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She hesitated to try to find her voice. “Mulder…”

He cut her off. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be cold or ungrateful. I just… I have no idea where I fit in. Right now. I just, uh… I’m having a little trouble… processing… everything.” 

He waved his hand at the room around him. He got up and sat on the couch and leaned forward. He gritted his jaw in frustration. Mulder kept staring at her just like she was another object out of place in his apartment. Maybe he was thinking this was another dream or hallucination. More than once after she returned, Scully would catch herself second-guessing her location. Scully thought now would be the time. Maybe it would bring him back to her and ground Mulder like he had to her. “Mulder,” she called loudly. She grasped her pregnant belly and tried to form the words, “He’s yours.” Except her voice was silent.

“You don’t have to stay, Scully,” Mulder said. “I’m fine. Promise. Indian Scout’s honor.” He held up three fingers in a promise. “Besides, I’m sure you have…to get home for your baby. Rest. Whatever expecting mothers do. I’ll be fine. You have more important things to take care of.”

Instead of fear, a fire burned through Scully’s veins. Not like this. She was tired of it. Not like this. She would make things right, even if he hated her. “Mulder, why are you acting like this?”

He snapped. “Do you know what it’s like to come back and feels like the world moved on without you? The whole world pretends you don’t exist anymore and move on. My apartment looks like a fucking memorial.” His mood changed suddenly. He motioned to her pregnancy. “And you. You couldn’t wait? Did you miss me so much that you decided to…” He could bring himself to finish his words. He bit his lip until he tasted blood. “Scully, you have no idea what it’s like.”

“Mulder, it’s not like that,” she sighed, trying to retain her composure. “And yes, I do know what it is like. The nightmares included. I’ve heard you screaming in your sleep.” She walked slowly towards him. “My own mother treated me like glass for months, called me every night. The only time I felt normal, myself, was when I was with you. I know what it’s like, Mulder.”

Mulder sighed and nodded. “I forgot. I’m sorry, Scully. It’s just hard you know?” He got up off the couch and stood in front of her. “I’ll walk you out.”

“Mulder,” she sighed. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Please quit making this harder than it already is.”

“What do you mean? I’m okay.”

“No. That’s not what I mean.” Unable to find her words, she took his hands and pressed it against her belly. It was now or never. He winced as if he had been burned and tried to pull away. Scully tightened her grasp around his wrists. He was clearly uncomfortable. “Definitely not a basketball.” 

“No.” She took a deep breath. “Look at me, Mulder. Look at me.” Unsteady hazel eyes met her blue eyes and he felt himself become lost. Unconsciously, he found his breath slowing, matching hers. “Breathe. Just focus on me, okay? This is real. All this is real.”

Then he felt it against his hand. A little bump. He jumped back, startled. With wide eyes like a child’s, he asked, “What was that?”

She reclaimed his hands and rested them against her belly. He felt the movement beneath his hands. Tears glistened. “That, Mulder, is your son.” She took a deep breath and stressed the next few words. “Our son.” He shook his head and tried to pull away. Scully wouldn’t let him. “I found out the day you were abducted. I wanted to tell you so badly. That night in Bellefleur. It was morning sickness, Mulder.”

He relaxed and blinked down. “A son? You’re…I mean…” He swallowed testing the word. “He’s mine?”

“Who else do you think it would be? A.D. Skinner’s?” She choked out a weak laugh. “I’ve been trying to tell you all along, Mulder. I see you’re still as thick-headed as ever.”

He relaxed and met her eyes. “This is real? Our son? We’re having a son?”

“This is all real. I am real. You are real. You’re home. And you’re going to be a father.” She nodded and smiled. “It’s a secret if anyone asks. We created life, Mulder.” She relaxed her grasp and rested her hands on top of his. “Do you feel it? I haven’t left you behind. I’ve been waiting for you to come home so we can start that life we talked about. Besides, you’ve been with me the entire time. Right here.”

“A son,” he mumbled. Mulder could not focus on anything else. Scully pulled him into a hug, holding him as he cried. “We have a son.”

She guided him to the couch where he found his world spinning. On the edge of another flashback, Mulder found himself trying to steady his breathing as Scully cupped his cheek and kept his other hand on her belly so he could feel their son. “This is real, Mulder. We’re real. Do you feel me? Do you feel your son?”

He nodded as she kissed him eagerly. “All this is real. I promise you.”

Mulder nodded again, unable to contain his emotions. “This is real,” he repeated like a mantra, “You. Our son.”

“Yes, our son.” 

His breathing slowly returned to normal and he nodded he was okay. He leaned back and Scully was freely crying now. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Mulder hugged her and closed his eyes. “All this is real,” he whispered again. “All of this is real.”

“You’re home,” she told him. “You’re finally where you belong. Right here with me and Junior.”

“You’re not naming him that.”

She smiled into his neck. “I missed you so much. You have no idea how much I prayed and hoped.” She breathed deeply. “We’re going to be okay.”

“We’ll be more than okay,” he promised her. He slowly regained his bearings. He rubbed his unborn son affectionately. “I believe I found right where I belong. Right here with you and the little one.”

Scully kissed him soundly, unable to stop the tears from her relief and happiness. “You’re home.”

“We’re home,” he corrected softly.


End file.
